Sanae Takaichi’s Liberal Democratic Party won Japan’s parliamentary elections, potentially securing a supermajority in the lower house.
Parliamentary Elections in Japan
Polling data shows that the Liberal Democratic Party, led by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, won between 274 and 328 seats in the 465-member House of Representatives. “A party with such status can chair all 17 standing committees in the chamber and have a majority of seats in them,” NHK television reports.
Including seats obtained by the coalition Innovation Party, the ruling bloc could gain more than 300 seats in the lower house of parliament. If the bloc achieves at least 310 seats, it will be able to rule alone. That many votes are needed to override vetoes from the upper house, dominated by the opposition.
Japan’s Prime Minister Wants to Strengthen Her Mandate
Sanae Takaichi took office as prime minister in October, becoming the first woman to hold this position in the history of Japan. In January, Takaichi officially dissolved parliament before the end of its term, the first such situation in 60 years.
Sanae Takaichi argued that she wants to strengthen the social mandate for her reforms. Her Liberal Democratic Party had only a slim majority in the dissolved lower house. The Takaichi government enjoys growing support, and on this wave, her political bloc wanted to fight for the sole exercise of power in parliament. This is to help in pushing through flagship laws of the new government, which concern fiscal system reform as well as far-reaching changes in security policy.
“Extreme Social Conservatism”
“A right-wing nationalist turn, symbolized by the controversial Takaichi, could lead to changes in the coalition ruling Japan and translate into increased tensions in relations with neighbors, including China and South Korea,” reported Oskar Pietrewicz from the Polish Institute of International Affairs.
As the expert pointed out, “a manifestation of her extreme social conservatism includes, among others, reluctance to equal rights for women and men and to immigrants.” The analyst assessed: “The new government will probably be interested in strengthening cooperation with NATO. The new government will most likely maintain the policy of condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and supporting the victim of aggression.”
In December, the magazine “Forbes” named Sanae Takaichi the third most powerful woman in the world. “Forbes” assessed that the Prime Minister of Japan is a “stubborn conservative,” whose role model is Margaret Thatcher.
